HP give Open source webOS September launch date

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HP have set a September launch date for the open source version of their failed OS, webOS.

Open webOS was announced back in September, after a few precarious months that saw the future of the OS put in doubt when the TouchPad tablet from HP, using the OS, bombed. By issuing an open source version, HP are hoping it will live on as an alternative to Android and Windows Phone 7 for handset manufacturers.

“HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer of HP.

“This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform’s development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications.”

A new generation of Enyo framework (the Javascript WebKit app that allows cross-platform distribution of apps) will land first, followed quickly by Enyo 2.0 and 2.1 in April. Apps built using these standards will allow them to run not only on mobile devices, but desktop browsers too.

While it’s great to see the once-promising OS live to fight another day, we can’t help but feel HP’s handling of the software may have turned people off of it for good. It’ll be interesting to see just how many developers get onboard and start tinkering with the platform once again.